Atlanta Braves Slugger Austin Riley Out 6-to-8 Weeks With Fractured Hand

Austin Riley underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a right hand fracture on Monday, knocking the All-Star Atlanta Braves third baseman out for at least the rest of the regular season.

Aug 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (left) gets a congratulatory handshake from third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo (89) after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley is expected to miss approximately six-to-eight weeks with a right hand fracture, the team announced Monday afternoon.

Riley was hit by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. He exited the contest and underwent a postgame X-ray, but results were initially inconclusive.

After undergoing an MRI on Monday, the diagnosis became clear and Riley was effectively ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 regular season. The best case scenario for Riley's recovery timeline would have him back in the lineup by Sept. 30 – the NL Wild Card Series begins on Oct. 1 and the NLDS gets underway on Oct. 5.

Austin Riley today underwent an MRI that revealed a right hand fracture. He is expected to miss approximately six to eight weeks.

Additionally, the club today returned RHP Reynaldo López from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list, and optioned…

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 19, 2024

Riley made his big league debut in 2019 and became an everyday player in 2020. He broke out in a big way in 2021, winning a Silver Slugger Award and a World Series ring on top of finishing seventh in NL MVP voting.

In 2022, Riley was named an All-Star for the first time and finished sixth in NL MVP voting. He made a second consecutive All-Star appearance in 2023, finishing seventh in the NL MVP race yet again.

Riley hit .286 with an .878 OPS from 2021 to 2023, averaging 36 home runs, 99 RBI and a 6.2 WAR each season. He did not spend any time on the injured list across any of those three campaigns, missing a total of seven games in that span.

Earlier in 2024, however, Riley missed two full weeks with left intercostal inflammation. Now, he is likely to miss the Braves' final 38 games of the season with a fractured right hand.

Riley was batting .256 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, a .783 OPS and a 2.8 WAR before going down on Sunday.

Atlanta is 7.0 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the NL East crown. The Braves do still hold a 2.0-game lead over the New York Mets for the third and final NL Wild Card spot, but it remains to be seen if they are able to retain that advantage without Riley.

Zack Short, who took over at third base when Riley got hurt in May, is not currently on the Braves' 40-man roster after getting outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett on July 27. In his 42 appearances with the Braves, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets this season, Short has hit .129 with a .454 OPS and a -0.1 WAR.

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